The Brazilian Undisputed Superstar? Neymar Jr's Global Tournament Countdown Challenge

As the French winger claimed the 2025 Ballon d'Or in late September, the Brazilian sensation was lying in bed for his latest physical setback of the year - while taking part in an online poker tournament.

The veteran Brazilian ace eventually placed as runner-up, earning around £73,800 in tournament winnings.

It was limited solace on a day when he had to observe the player who previously succeeded him at Barcelona receive the award he had long hoped to win.

Since coming back to his youth team Santos in January, the experienced attacker has failed to live up to expectations, attracting more attention for episodes like this than for his on-field performances.

His homecoming after 12 seasons away was meant to be a chance for him to return to peak condition and, most importantly, restore a love of football that seemed gone after disappointing periods with PSG and the Saudi club.

Conversely, it has been generally unsatisfactory for everyone concerned.

This reflects the situation that the key issue being asked right now in Brazil is whether Neymar will participate in the upcoming global tournament.

He's running out of time.

On midweek, Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti announced his team selection for the upcoming games against Korea Republic and Japan and, yet again, Neymar was absent.

"The Prince", as he was nicknamed when welcomed back at Santos in a reference to the king Pele, is yet to play under Ancelotti, having been missing from the national team for two years.

He also remains an fitness concern for the autumn fixtures, which, in the worst scenario, will leave him with just a pair of friendly matches in March 2026 to demonstrate his worth to Ancelotti before the announcement of the definitive squad for the World Cup.

"But nobody wins the World Cup single-handedly. Placing all our hopes on him at the moment is difficult because he finds it hard to even play multiple matches in a row."

Not just has Neymar had repeated injury problems since his return to Brazil - he's missed nearly half of Santos' matches this campaign - but, when he was available for selection, he was a distant from the player who during his zenith rivaled Lionel Messi and the Portuguese icon.

Of his nine goal contributions so far, five have come against teams from lower tiers than Brazil's top flight - a scoring contribution against a lower-league side, followed by a goal and two assists versus Inter de Limeira, all in the regional competition.

As Santos battle against demotion in the top division, the playmaker no longer seems to be the game-changer he once was.

Nevertheless, Ancelotti has asserted that the forward has sufficient months to show he is prepared for the World Cup.

Ancelotti caused local controversy last month by allegedly attempting to protect Neymar, stating the star had been excluded from the team over physical condition issues.

But then Neymar himself challenged the claim, saying he "was excluded for technical reasons; it has nothing to do with my physical condition."

In terms of public perception, it definitely didn't help for Neymar.

Polls from a leading polling institute found that the Brazilian public are divided over whether Neymar should be included for his fourth World Cup.

With his 79 goals, Neymar is Brazil's all-time top scorer, but he hasn't improved his situation much with his behaviour on the pitch either.

He seems greater frustration than usual, having argued with fans multiple times in stadiums - it occurred in successive games in mid-year.

The following month, the forward was emotional after Santos endured a six-goal home defeat by Vasco da Gama - the heaviest defeat of his career.

When asked by a reporter about his fitness condition in a post-match interview, he became frustrated: "Again with this, friend? I've answered this 500 times already."

The same kind of question has been directed at his father and agent Neymar Sr as well.

"Neymar's strategy was to remain for five months at Santos. To what end? To regain fitness. If Neymar was able to feature, so be it," he previously explained, causing outrage among fans.

There's continuing belief, however, that Neymar's best days haven't ended and that he will be able to resurrect his form the same way striker Ronaldo "Fenômeno" did in the 2002 World Cup to surmount skepticism and physical setbacks to lead Brazil to the championship trophy.

The former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan legend sees parallels.

"It's an misrepresentation from a small group who believe he's ignoring his fitness rehabilitation.

Those who have been in football understand completely how hard it is to come back from an setback and recover rhythm and confidence. He's progressing well."

The Santos star has a important timeframe ahead to demonstrate that he's not the prince who abandoned the throne.